Air conditioning apparatus



' Mam}! 53 w. E. GILLHAM 2,633,070

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed March 26, 1951 Patented Mar. 31 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE m cfl mfrlonme .AHA ATUs. Walter E; Gillham, Kansas City, Mo. spousal-immanent 26, 195 se iaimlamssa The. presentv inventionrelates to air condition mg equipment; and the. primary object'. in view is'y'to devise-an improved form of; air, conditioning unit utilizing. a novelfarrangement or, as:

sembly of air re-circulating meana 'andTactuat-I.

ingl means therefor.

Accordingly the. invention aims to provide a novel type of woman-conditioning unit, having,

an. outstanding, feature the utili'z ationI of the. primary air supply thereto as thev driving or actuating means for mainta'iningsthe air. mix; ing and recirculating function involved in the operationof theunit,

For the accomplishment of this purpose, the invention consists-in providing. an air conditioning unit, equipped, with av combination air recirculating and driving assembly, adapted to be directly actuated by the force of the primary air supply entering the unit.

It is further sought to provide an improved construction of this characterinwhich the same is. adapted for not only economical and efflcient operation, but also includes simple and con.- venient regulating means for the propero ntrol c fthe, operation of. the unit.

apracticalform of embodiment of the pro:- posed improved ;construction,,-. the, 7 same i can; be read ly incorporated. i a. small cabinet-f nd f unit having the conventional air-conditioning means and an air-mixing space and including a primary air-supply passageby introducing a combination drive and fan assembly in proper intermediate relation to said air-conditioning means and the mixing chamber, as well as in operative relation to the movement of the incoming air through said passage, for thereby actuating said drive and fan lassembly as required for its normal operation.

With the foregoing general objects in view, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one practical and efiicient form of construction which I have found suitable for embodiment of the aforesaid improvements, after which those features and combinations deemed to be novel and patentable will be particularly set forth in the appended claim.

In the said drawing- Figure 1 is a front elevation, illustrative of one form of construction embodying the present invention, said view representing a section taken on the line |l of Figure 2; and

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, representing a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

nde rm ,W FQQQ R QXmQ de r es; in detail, the example ot construction-shown therein comprises a. cabinet type otroom air-e o d i ni n t niha qr o a es ei r 41 .11g s: Q- esisned u e. u p ted m n ht. 9 tion. andprovidedwith. a.;front intake grill open:

ing ii! at. its bottomE portion for.receiving-the, recirculated; air supply, and; alsdwith; an outlet.

grill opening M for the discharge-of theoutgo ingtreated; and mixed air; from the.. ;air mixing;

chamber 16,, constitutingthetop portioneofthe unit.

In sanopen. supporting frame-;.l,8.insidetheirontlower portion. of. the unit ismounted a. conventional set of heating andcooling coils--20 inthe,

cal-ting; at. its upper end with. the bottom of the air mixing chamber l6 by way; ofa discharge outlet opening 24in thexbottomwall, 23 of thechamber' Hi,- which openingispreferably fitted.

with sets of oppositely inclinedrbaflle, elements 2 Gr-ES illustrated. in, Figure: 1,

Adjacent to the upper portion of the primary air supply duct 22, and on opposite sides there- 7 of, are located a pair of drum-shaped housing members 28 of somewhat eccentric form and designed to enclose a pair of blower-type fans 30 for air-recirculating actionthese fans being secured to a horizontal shaft 32, the end of which are journaled in bearings 34 located centrally of "air-intake openings 36 provided in the outer walls of said housing members 28-as represented in Figure 1. On the central portion of the said shaft 32, and between said housing members 28, is mounted a third fan 38, for turbine action in driving said shaft, for which purpose the said {an 38 projects through an opening 4|] in the adjacent wall of the duct 22, and hence into the path of movement of the primary air flow-as shown in Figure 2. Within said duct 22 and directly to the rear of the said opening 40, is suspended a conventional form of damper plate 42, which is supported by means of a suitable pivot 43 for swinging movement (as represented by dotted lines in Figure 2) for regulation of the degree or proportion of the primary air flow utilized for operation of said turbine or driver fan 38; and such regulation is represented as adapted to be controlled by means of a knob 44 at the front 3 of the unit, for operation of a flexible shaft connection 45 to a worm and gear assembly 46 associated with the pivoted end of the damper member 42.

The housings 28 are also provided with discharge outlets 48, for the discharge of the recirculated air into the bottom of the mixing chamber [6, which outlets may likewise be fitted with suitable grill work or inclined baiiie structure, as in the case of the discharge opening 24 for the primary air flow.

In the operation of the improved type of air conditioning assembly as above described, it will be apparent that as the flow of primary air takes place, under the pressure of the primary air supply, and follows its course through the duct passage 22, a portion of that primary air current is intercepted by the turbine fan member 38 and thereby utilized for driving said fan in turbine fashion and in turn actuating the shaft 32 and the other two fans 30 for the carrying out of the air recirculating operation -the recirculated air supply being drawn in through the intake openings 36 of the fan housings, and thence discharged through the outlets 48 into the mixing chamber 16, in an obvious manner. For obtaining any desired regulating effect of the said fan and recirculating operation, it is only necessary to adjust the knob 44 to the required extent, for varying the operative position of the damper plate and correspondingly controlling the rate of the turbine driving action of the fan assembly. Of course it is also evident that such regulation may be carried out by use of a conventional form of thermostatic control, if desired.

Thus an extremely simple and compact form of construction is provided for carrying out the primary objects of my invention, as regards reducing the essential structural features thereof to a minimum by eliminating all complications arising from the use of any of the common or usual motor-driven types of driving means, and simply deriving the necessary driving action from the energy of the primary air supply pressure, with the resultant economy characterizing the improved and simplified structural unit and its operation as above described.

The improved form of unit is moreover obvious- 4 ly adapted for any types of installation and oper-= ations for which such character of apparatus is generally used, including of course seasonal changes in operation and the corresponding variations as to the air-conditioning treatment.

While I have herein illustrated and described what I now regard as one efilcient and preferred form of embodiment of the aforesaid novel and essential features of the invention, I desire to be understood as expressly reserving the right to make such changes or modifications as may fairly be deemed to fall within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

An air conditioning unit comprising a housing structure providing a lower air conditioning space and an upper air mixing chamber, air conditioning means within said lower space, air recirculating means comprising spaced housing chambers intermediate said air conditioning means and said air mixing chamber, said housing chambers being both positioned in receiving relation to said lower air conditioning space and in discharge relation to said air mixing chamber, a

shaft carrying rotary fan elements within said housing chambers and also a turbine driving element in the space between said chambers, and means for conducting a flow of primary air under pressure in driving relation to said turbine element and thereafter discharging said flow of primary air into said upper air mixing chamber.

WALTER E. GILLHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

